Behind-the-scenes tour yields many treasures

It's a special place and usually off limits. The back rooms and areas of the Buffalo Museum of Science are kept under lock and key and for good reason. Back there, away from the public view, you will find thousands of unusual treasures. Director of collections, Kathy Leacock knows here way around back here. Our first stop is a room filled with dead things in bottles. Kathy says "this is our fluid preserved collection, we keep our items by material type" and adds "this is an example of a collection that we don't exhibit, we use for research." Our next stop is a room where Kathy shows the "Knox Money Collection". Unusual objects cover the large table as Kathy explains that before we had standardized currency, almost everything could be used for a form of payment including: tobacco, cheese, salt, hair and liquor. Other treasures in this behind-the-scenes tour include artifacts from the Pan-American Exhibition, a two headed calf and a large taxidermy tiger named "Tony". These special after-hours and behind the scenes tours are available to adults age 18 and older and you can find more information at the Buffalo Museum Of Science website.